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iPad Stand

Newsflash: The Apple iPad is still really, really popular. And according to Needham & Company analyst Charlie Wolf, it's now even more popular than it's ever been. Apple Insider reports that Wolf
has revised his previous projection of 13.5 million iPads sold in the
second quarter of 2012 all the way up to 20 million, even more than the
15 million iPads it sold during the 2011 holiday quarter.

Wolf is even more bullish about the iPad's potential future sales as well, since he sees that the tablet is being adopted much more rapidly by businesses than the iPhone was after its release.

“In our view, it's only a matter of time before iPad shipments exceed iPhone shipments,” Wolf wrote in his note to investors on Thursday. “The iPad is invading the business market
at a much faster pace than the iPhone. In addition, the iPad will
launch in China on July 20th. This should provide a significant boost in
sales now that Apple is providing Chinese languages and services on its iOS platform.”

Apple is about to complete an important part of the puzzle for the
new iPad's world rollout: it just confirmed that its Retina
display-packing tablet will reach mainland China on July 20th. The
company isn't specific about local pricing, but it's promising both WiFi
and cellular versions at its own stores and through resellers. The company is keen to avoid some of the mobs and scalping it's seen in the past and will open reservations for pickup starting on July 19th — although the company is unusually limiting the reservation
window to just three hours each day, between 9AM and noon. The current
iPad design has been certified since March; Apple isn't about to mention
Proview by name in the release, but it likely wasn't keen on risking
another store ban when it could just avoid the battle altogether.
No matter how it shakes out, the official Chinese expansion is likely
to keep the number of slingshot-delivered imports to a minimum.

Newly leaked schematics and case renderings reveal a variety of purported details about Apple's widely rumored “iPad mini” tablet, a device that is likely to take the wind out of the Nexus
7′s sails if it does indeed launch later this year at the rumored $249
price point. With early production of Apple's smaller slate already
under way according to reports, leaks continue to surface on numerous sites. In this latest round, Think iOSclaims to have received third-party case renderings and schematics for the iPad mini from case maker FullHull.

According to the report, Apple's iPad mini will be 7.87 inches tall and
5.3 inches wide, a significantly smaller footprint that the
current-generation iPad model, which measures 9.5 inches by 7.31 inches.
And while the third-generation iPad is 9.3 millimeters thick, the iPad mini
will supposedly feature a design that is a remarkable 7.4 millimeters
thin. For comparison, the iPod touch measures 7.3 millimeters thick.

There is a major discrepancy that casts doubt over Think iOS's report, however: the website's source claims that the iPad mini display will measure 7 inches diagonally. Numerous earlier reports suggest that the tablet will feature a 7.85-inch display, including one report from The Wall Street Journal that claimed the new iPad mini's screen will measure roughly 8 inches diagonally.

The iPad mini is expected to launch this fall for between $249 and $299.

In accordance with recent reports of Sharp being involved in the manufacturing ofApple products, the latest report mentions that the iPad Mini will sport a Sharp-manufactured IGZO LCD display, which by virtue of its characteristics, will aid Apple in slimming down the design.

Purportedly, the new iPad will sport a Retina Display and cost between $249 and $299 based on the storage capacity. It's very announcement could trigger its competition with the rest of the world.

Apple
iPad Mini's veridical existence could spell doom for the countless
Android tablets that are already struggling to compete with the
ever-premium and market-dominating full-sized iPads.

While there are no specs on the smaller sized iPad or even a confirmation if that thing is real, there have been multiple reports of a smaller iPad hiding in Apple's sleeve. Source that report this do not have any significant evidence to confirm the truth either.

However, considering the market scenario where smaller sized
tablets are more than becoming a norm, it wouldn't seem unfair if Apple
too joined the league. On the other hand, observing that Apple has
almost always refrained from adopting trends that are most common until
it considers that the time is right.

Take for instance the
classic real case of an iPhone with a larger display. Apple held off too
long (and even until now) to announce an iPhone with a larger display
than 3.5" even as the iPhone is breaking into a fifth generation product
while the rest of the smartphone industry was raining with devices
sporting over 4" in size or significantly larger.

While analysts believe that Apple will announce the iPad Mini to meet demand for smaller tablets, there is no established evidence of Apple iPad Mini being on the horizon, but considering that Apple may evolve its stereotyped 3.5" display sized
iPhone to a 4" or bigger one with the release of the unannounced iPhone
5, the possibility of a smaller iPad too seems (at least slightly)
substantial.

Is this an indication that we might probably see something interesting this October besides the iPhone 5? Only time will tell.

The oft-rumored iPad Mini is in the news yet again. This time two different ‘mainstream' publications, if you can call them that, the WSJ and Bloomberg, each have a report regarding Apple's supposedly upcoming tablet.

Mass
production for the device will start in September. According to
nameless officials at Apple's component suppliers, the Cupertino company
has told them to prepare for mass production – which would certainly signify that Apple has made up its mind about launching the Mini tablet.

The new device's screen will be 7 to 8 inches diagonally, and the iPad Mini will arrive on the market before the end of the year. It may get announced by October, perhaps alongside the next-gen iPhone. The iPad Mini's screen will have a resolution lower than that seen in the new iPad.

If
this is true, then Apple probably won't claim the Retina brand for this
particular display. Common sense says that Apple's probably going to go
with 1024×768, which has been used in both the original iPad and the iPad 2. Since the iPad Mini
will be smaller, the pixel density will be higher than in those two
tablets anyway, while, of course, not being anywhere near Retina
territory.

At less than 8″ though, few consumers will probably consider the 1024×768 resolution a downside to Apple's new tablet.

Getting back to the size of the device, this is nothing new of course. The most rumored size so far would make the iPad Mini's display 7.85 inches diagonally.

There have been rumors of a shrunken iPad since time immemorial, so
you'll have to forgive us if we look at most fresh claims with a jaded
eye. Still, when both Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal
hear that Apple is close to producing a tablet with an 8-inch or
smaller screen, there might be some fire to go with the smoke. What
details that exist are unsurprisingly thin outside of the dimensions,
although Bloomberg understands that there won't be a Retina display
like in the current 9.7-inch slab. That's not a shock given the size and
likely cost concerns — we're more interested in the talk of nearing production plans with an uncanny level of synchronicity. The Wall Street Journal has caught murmurs that volume production ramps up in September, while its business paper rival Bloomberg thinks that an announcement could come “by October.” We still won't be shocked
if these are just wild misinterpretations of an upsized iPod touch or
become nothing but vapor. Should they pan out, however, our good friend the Nexus 7 could feel some heat this fall.

Spotify
on Tuesday announced the addition of free mobile radio to the company's
popular Spotify app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Spotify's
radio features were previously only available to desktop users, however
free and premium Spotify users can now stream limitless artist, song,
playlist or album-based radio stations to Apple's iOS devices. "Our
focus has always been on creating an amazing user experience," said
Spotify VP of product, Charlie Hellman. "The radio feature we've added
to our iPhone and iPad apps gives users the ability to discover, listen
and save what they like on the go – all within one app – for free."
Spotify's full press release follows below, and Spotify's app is
available for free in the iOS App Store.

Spotify Launches Free Mobile Radio in the US

Latest update for iOS app includes radio you can save

Starting
today, Spotify users in the US can play for free on iPhone and iPad.
The latest update to Spotify's iOS app includes the new radio feature,
giving free users in the US access to an unlimited amount of music on
the move. The update is now available for download in the App Store.

The
new radio feature for iOS is seamlessly integrated into the Spotify
service, creating an unmatched user experience of listening,
discovering, saving and sharing music, from a catalog of more than 16
million songs.

Spotify users on iPhone and iPad can now:

Create limitless streaming radio stations from single songs, playlists, albums or artists

Create an unlimited number of stations and listen as long as they like

Save tracks to Spotify playlists – any song that users "like" will be saved, so they can find the songs later

Personalize stations in real time by "liking" tracks to hear similar music

Browse friends' playlists and create radio stations based on their tastes

Hear
great new songs from Spotify's state-of-the-art recommendation engine,
based on what millions of real people are listening to

Access a catalog of over 16 million tracks

"Our
focus has always been on creating an amazing user experience," said
Charlie Hellman, VP, Product at Spotify. "The radio feature we've added
to our iPhone and iPad apps gives users the ability to discover, listen
and save what they like on the go – all within one app – for free."

Premium
users of the Spotify iOS app will continue to have an ad-free
experience. Free users in the US will hear advertisements from the
following launch partners: Chevrolet, Durex, Heineken, Red Stag by Jim
Beam, Lipton Iced Tea, Macy's, McDonalds, Progressive, Red Bull, Taco
Bell, Verizon Wireless, and Warner Bros - all of which are current
Spotify advertisers.

The new Spotify radio feature will also be available to Premium users outside of the United States.

iPad
fans disappointed with their browsing experience could soon have a
Safari alternative from Mozilla. Mozilla has taken the wraps off a new
version of its Firefox browser that it has been designing specifically
for the Apple iPad, dubbed “Junior,” that the foundation says “makes
browsing more fun, more ergonomic and re-thinks browser user experience
from the ground up.” While this sounds ambitious, the development team
at Mozilla seems to have really created a browser that's unique to
tablets rather than just simply porting its browser over from desktop or
mobile platforms.

Junior is immensely simplified compared with
most browsers because it only has two buttons that are strategically
placed right where the average iPad user's thumbs go. The “back” button
performs the standard back function that's crucial to any browser while
the “plus” button opens up a new screen that gives users the opportunity
to enter in a URL manually, go to a recently-viewed site or go to a
bookmarked site.

The reason for the simplified browsing
experience is that Mozilla wants its tablet browser to take advantage of
the entire tablet screen without clogging it up with tabs and search
bars. And yes that means that Junior doesn't have the on-screen tabs
that have been a longtime Firefox staple, but Mozilla thinks that tabs
on a tablet screen are just taking up space needlessly.

Mozilla hasn't yet made any announcements in terms of when Junior will be available for iPad users.

Love your iPad, but hate Safari? Mozilla's Alex Limi can relate,
it's “a pretty miserable experience,” he says. So what's he doing about
it? Building a replacement, of course. In a recent presentation showing
the fruits of the Mozilla Product Design Strategy team's labors, Limi
offered a glimpse at Junior, an iPad browser that hopes to redefine how
we view the internet on tablets. The prototype browser eschews the
traditional address bar / tab layout in favor of a minimalistic, full
screen experience, flanked by only two obvious toggles — a back button,
and a plus symbol that opens a menu containing favorites, recent pages
and a URL / search bar. Other common options such as reload, forward and
print are hidden away, but accessible. The idea is a simple browsing
experience that's more fun, engaging and ergonomic. “It's very simple,”
Limi summarizes, “it's a browser.” He stresses that Junior is still just
a prototype, albeit a compelling one.

Mozilla does not seem to content with their current market
share in terms of browser dominance, and they are not going to take this
particular situation lying down. In fact, Mozilla does seem to want to
spread their wings further in the world of tablets, and has set their
sights on the promised land – the Apple iPad. It seems that there are
whispers going around that hail from industry insiders which touch on
the very same team who worked on the desktop version of Firefox will
soon challenge themselves further, by designing a Firefox version just
for the Apple iPad. In the process, it is hoped that this popular open
source web browser will be able to provide some sort of decent
competition to Apple's Safari browser on the iPad.

The new
browser has been nicknamed “Junior”, which is rather fitting at this
point in time. Hopefully Junior will be able to receive all the digital
milk it can get (and crave for) in order to grow up to be a dominant web
browser.